


Maybe, Be With Me?

by OutOfTheWoodsSoon



Category: Big Brother RPF, zankie - Fandom
Genre: Frankie Has A Lot Of Men After His Heart, Frankie is on a Dating Show, M/M, Zach May Have Something To Say About It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 18:46:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12326730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OutOfTheWoodsSoon/pseuds/OutOfTheWoodsSoon
Summary: Maybe it wasn't the right time before. Maybe there isn't a perfect time. Maybe the time is now.





	1. Chapter 1

'We are here on the set of 'Henry Danger'! So happy to be filming for a third time.'

Jon Erik shook his head at his friend. Frankie was leaning back as far as he could trying to get the best angle. 'Frankie. Seriously? Your head is going to snap off.'

'It's where the light is!'. Frankie turned away from his phone and playfully glared at his friend for a second before addressing his fans again. 'See how he treats me? I can't have me being seen in bad lighting.'

'God forbid.' Jon Erik mumbled. 'I'm off to get Starbucks. Be back before your call time.'

'What a good little assistant he is.'. Frankie smiled as he could see Jon Erik flipping him off in the reflection of his phone. 'I guess it's time for me to get serious. I'm not quite sure about my makeup. I think it needs more glitter? What do you think?' 

The comments really started coming in, mainly fans telling him to put glitter on. 'Okay, glitter it is! I love you all so much!'. Frankie blew a big kiss and ended the stream he had going with his grandtourage. He walked over to his vanity and got to work.

Frankie was just finishing applying some glitter to his cheeks and eyes when he heard the door to his trailer open about thirty minutes after Jon Erik had left. A cool breeze flowed through the room, causing goosebumps to raise ever so slightly on his skin. He shivered. Something felt different suddenly. The energy was electric, and he wasn't sure why. Frankie figured it must be the excitement of being on a set again. He couldn't quite see the door without turning, and he didn't want to risk poking himself in the eye.

'That was fast! Just set the coffee over here, Jon Erik. I need the caffeine!'

'It's not Jon Erik.'

Frankie flew around to face the man he had tried so hard to forget. The glitter and the brush falling to the floor. He couldn't speak. 

Zach was flushed. His hair was wind blown. In his hand was a bouquet of roses.


	2. Chapter 2

Zach bit his lip. His face was flaming red. Frankie could see the flowers shaking, the rustling of the petals filled his ears. This was the first time Zach had made a move like this. The first time he had flown to him this way. 

This moment was surreal. He almost couldn't believe it. Zach was really here, in his dressing room. Frankie was in shock. They hadn't really spoken, not truly, in about three months. A text was exchanged here and there, but they couldn't quite get back on track. Now, here Zach was: out of breath, scared, and holding roses. Frankie wanted to hold him, but he couldn't let himself. He had to keep the guard up until he was sure what this meant, what Zach wanted. Hell, what he wanted too. Frankie couldn't say what that was. His mind and his heart seemed to be at war over the answer.

‘Hi’ Zach broke their spell of silence, of just staring at one another.

‘What are you doing in California?’ Frankie blew out a breath. ‘Better yet, what are you doing here?’

Zach looked to the ground. He seemed to steel himself. When he looked up, Frankie could see his shoulders were back and tall. A look of determination adorned his face. Frankie knew that look too well. They both could be very stubborn. 

‘I saw the ad for the show.’ Zach’s eyes hardened for a second. ‘The dating show, the ad announcing you as the man who will be having men fight for his heart. It broke mine.’ His voice trailed off. 

Frankie could see Zach’s eyes start to water. He knew he’d caused him a lot of pain. It was the one thing they’d gotten too good at, causing one another pain. ‘I figured it was time to finally do something about us. Guess there’s no perfect time, huh? Been waiting for it, but it never came.’ His fists clenched, both from anger and trying to keep his composure, Frankie imagined.

‘Zach..’ Frankie wasn’t sure he had the energy for this. He’d talked to Zach about this opportunity before, and he had told him he wasn’t going to take it. They’d made plans to try to make it work with them, finally, and the very day Frankie was due to tell his agent what his answer would be, Zach had posted a suggestive dance with a girl at a club. He remembered the tears soaking the paper as he signed on the dotted line. Frankie was sick of the backtracking, of every time he and Zach made progress, Zach sabotaging it out of fear. 

‘No, Frankie, let me finish. Please. I have to get this out.’ Zach’s voice was firm, determined.

Frankie closed his eyes. He couldn’t look at Zach. He couldn’t control himself with Zach. They couldn’t control themselves around each other. The passion between them, the love, was unlike anything either had experienced. ‘Go ahead.’ Frankie almost didn’t recognize his voice. It came out as a scratchy whisper. It was so quiet that he wasn’t even sure he had spoken, or if it was just an unvoiced thought. When Zach began to speak again, Frankie got his answer.

‘Thank you. Thank you for hearing me, Frankie. I know it’s a surprise to see me. I know I’ve said a lot of shit, and not really followed through. I know I’ve said ‘sorry’ too many times to count, without following it with proving I mean it. I don’t want to do that anymore. I am sorry, Frankie. Very sorry. I’m sorry for all of it. I’m asking you to give me another chance.'

'I already signed the contract, Zach. I can't get out of it. We start filming next week. I..' Frankie felt trapped. There wasn't anything he could do. He found himself kicking himself for signing that contract, but it seemed to be what was needed to bring Zach out. To bring Zach to him, just like he'd always held onto hope that he would come one day. 

'Frankie, I know. I couldn't let you go on without knowing how I feel. I love you. I always have, and maybe I haven't handled it the best. Maybe I didn't even know I loved you at times, but I promise, Frankie- I never stopped loving you. Never.' Zach stepped forward, stepping softly as if he was afraid any sudden noise would startle Frankie out of hearing him out. 'I have no right to ask, I know that, but I'm going to ask anyways. Is there anyway you would not kiss anyone else? Please? I can't take seeing you kiss anyone else again. The last time almost killed me, and I know what you had to see and hear with me, but please consider what I'm asking, Frankie. Please.'  


Frankie felt his chin start to tremble. He shook his head, trying to gain some composure. He couldn't lose it. This wasn't the place. It wasn't the time. 'I don't know what to say, Zach. I want to give you everything. I do. But, I've done that before, and I got burned. You ripped my heart apart. I don't know if there's enough pieces of it left to give you, to give anyone.'

'Stop! Stop, Frankie! You ripped my heart up too! We did it to each other. I know what I've done, and I hate myself for it, but you ripped me up too!' Zach bellowed. ‘I’m sick of this! I don’t want to do this anymore! I don’t want to get revenge, I don’t want to try to hurt you back when you hurt me. I don’t want you to try to hurt me when I hurt you. I want to wave my white flag, Frankie. I’m here. I’m here surrendering. You have me, you have my heart. It’s yours. Break it if you must, but it’s yours to break or to put back together. Just like I know yours is mine. I know that. I’ve finally stopped letting myself talk myself out of being unworthy of you, of us. I don’t want to break you anymore. I want to fix you, fix us. We are better together, Frankie.’ Tears spilled out of Zach’s eyes, a steady stream ran down his cheeks and began to soak his shirt.

Frankie couldn’t take seeing Zach cry. He could feel his own tears begin, his eyes blurred. He found himself moving towards Zach, his body being drawn to his. Frankie reached up as he got to Zach to wipe his cheeks. He heard him gasp at Frankie’s cool touch. Zach leaned into his hands, his eyes closed. 

‘I’m sorry too, Zach. I want to be with you. I do. I always have. I told you before that I choose you. I always will, if you give me the choice. Let’s see what happens after this. Let’s get past this show, and we will see where we are.’

‘Together. That’s where we will be. I promise, Frankie.’ Zach looked so sincere. Frankie found himself leaning in to Zach. He brought their faces together, and he gently brushed their lips together. Zach exhaled and sunk into Frankie. 

‘I won’t kiss anyone else. I promise.’ Zach smiled before bringing their lips back together. The tension visibly left his body in relief. 

\-----------------------------------  
The last limo pulled in front of the house. Frankie held the last rose in his hand, waiting to give it to the last contestant. The men had been gorgeous. Frankie should be thrilled. He should be all set to move on from Zach, but he was all he could think about. That kiss they had shared, Zach's declarations of love, kept running through his mind. He just wanted to leave. He wanted to run and find Zach. He wanted to make them work. He kept going back to what Zach had said before he’d left. ‘I will surprise you, Frankie. I mean it this time. I will be there when you least expect it. I have plans. I’ve made steps. This time is different.’

Frankie found himself getting worked up. He knew this was a process. It would be about seven weeks of filming, another two months before it began to air, and he wouldn't be able to be seen dating until after the finale aired. It had only been days since he’d seen him, but would Zach wait for him? He felt he would. Zach seemed determined to be with him this time, but Frankie was also aware of how things had been so easily swayed before. Was Zach strong enough now? He hoped so. Seeing Frankie with these other men wouldn't be easy either, but Frankie planned to stick by his promise to Zach that there'd be no kissing. He would be faithful. He just hoped Zach was going to hold on as tight as he was going to. 

The door opened, and Frankie saw a shiny pink shoe step out underneath the door. It stood out, not only for its bright color, but Frankie had been subjected to the same black dress shoe over and over. This man stood out amongst the rest already. 

Frankie furrowed his brows, finding himself momentarily distracted from Zach. Who was this? Frankie felt his heart speeding up, almost as if it was figuring out things quicker than he could.

'Bet you didn't see this coming, Froot Loop.' Zach. Of course, it was Zach.  


Frankie beamed. 'What are you doing here?' How did you do this?' Zach ran up to Frankie and grabbed him into a tight hug. He stepped back enough to look Frankie in the eyes. His hands squeezed Frankie’s upper arms.

'Did you really think I wouldn't be here? I'm here to fight for my man!' And there it was. That giggle. Frankie shook his head, his cheeks hurting from smiling so hard. No one held a candle to Zach for him, but Zach didn’t have to know that yet. He probably already did, but Frankie looked forward to seeing what Zach was willing to do for him, for them. If he could really show him he meant it, he wanted this forever, Frankie would show Zach just how much he was willing to do for him, for them, in turn.


	3. Chapter 3

This was the final hurdle. It wouldn’t be easy to get through. Zach knew that, but he could do this. He looked over his shoulder one last time before he opened the double doors leading to the other fellow bachelors, and he saw Frankie beaming at him. He let out a giggle and winked back when he saw those long, beautiful lashes open and close in his direction. It brought him back to years before when he’d caught Frankie’s eye across the ‘Big Brother’ backyard. God, Frankie was stunning then, even more so now. As he turned from Frankie and grabbed the door-handles, he felt hope. A hope just like he’d had that finale night, but this time the fear that had accompanied that hope wasn’t going to surface. It had won before. He wouldn’t let it this time. 

As the cool breeze from the air conditioned room hit his face, and he caught his first glance at the many men that would also be competing for Frankie, Zach started thinking back on what led him to this place. Seeing Frankie ‘dating’ anyone else has always caused him pain, even if he didn’t want to identify why it did the last few years. Each text he’d sent, each message on instagram, would go without responses for days, weeks. Sometimes they would be left as ‘read’, with no response at all. It hurt. It hurt a lot. He couldn’t blame Frankie for not really having him in his life. After all he’d done, and after all of the time he’d spent pursuing females, what he felt he had to do to be ‘normal’, Zach had accepted he had given Frankie no reason to invest in him. It didn’t make him feel any less like a failure, and it didn’t mean he didn’t want to lash out anytime it seemed Frankie was moving on with someone new.

Zach felt pressured to fit into a certain box. Being straight, having girls fawn all over him, getting a girlfriend, getting a job, and eventually married to a woman was what was expected. It was expected from his friends. It was expected of pretty much everyone in his life. When he got on ‘Big Brother’, Frankie through a wrench in that plan of ‘normalcy’. He felt an instant attraction, an immediate connection. Looking back, even then he would go out of his way to talk about girls and flirt with the female houseguests in some vain attempt to counteract his feelings for Frankie being seen in those private moments. Even though he was always aware there were cameras everywhere, there was some sense of privacy when he and Frankie would be alone in a room. Perhaps he revealed too much of himself in those moments, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. All of those moments were thrown back in his face as soon as he left the house. He felt exposed. He felt like a cornered, injured animal, and he lashed out. He said he didn’t care if Frankie had feelings for him, and it went from there. It built and built, each time it was a little worse. He’d taken things so far. He got so caught up in covering for himself, in trying to fit in, trying to be ‘normal’, that he chipped away at what he and Frankie had until there wasn’t anything really left. He had apologized at times to Frankie, but he could see now how empty those apologies must have sounded to Frankie when he’d don’t nothing to show he meant them.

He wasn’t a bad person, and just maybe it was time to prove the trolls wrong, instead of confirming what they said about him. He wasn’t that man. Not now, and he wouldn’t be again. That he could control. Attacking himself wouldn’t change anything, neither would hiding. He was ready to face it head on. It was time.

When he first was told Frankie was going on this show, Zach felt so defeated. He wallowed in it. He found himself snapping at the smallest things. He could remember the exact moment he’d heard about what Frankie was planning on doing. It had been a long day. He’d had clients all day, with just one more before he could go home and try to forget this day. There must have been something in the air. None of the clients had been in good moods, and the meetings hadn’t gone well. His head was pounding, the pain throbbing in bursts along with his pulse in his temples. He’d stopped for some coffee to try to get him through his final consult. Zach was fourth in line when the television above the takeout counter caught his eye. 

‘Broadway and YouTube star, Frankie J Grande has signed on to do a new dating show, partnering with his longtime friend Lance Bass. The as yet untitled project is set to begin casting soon. Catch our interview with Frankie tonight at 6:30pm.’.

Zach felt numb. He couldn’t be here. He didn’t know what he was going to do. He wanted to throw his phone across the room, smashing the television. He wanted the reporter to shut up. He couldn’t hear this. ‘Frankie has given up.’. That kept flashing through his mind. His chest and his head were competing on which could make him feel his heartbeat the most. His heart felt like it was trying to escape. If he looked down, he just knew he could see it trying to escape through his shirt.

Over the next few days, Zach found every bit of information he could get on the show. The more he found, the lower he felt. He would tell himself he was fine with it, and then he’d rage. No one knew quite how to take him, or what exactly that had happened to make him this way.

One of the few people in Zach’s life that was unfazed by his outbursts was a newer friend named Milo. Milo was a great guy. Zach had met him through a few short gigs he’d done over the years in LA. He didn’t judge, but he pulled no punches. Zach respected that about him. He could tell Milo anything, and he knew he wouldn’t berate him. He would tell him if he felt Zach was wrong, but he wouldn’t beat him up about it. He hadn’t shared all of his truth with Milo yet, but he felt like he could, if he needed to. His feelings, his true feelings, about Frankie were just too personal. He’d only just begun to deal with them himself.

‘Dude, why are you acting so upset? Is there something you want to tell me?’. Milo paused to allow Zach to speak. Zach could feel the denials and the ‘no homo’ bullshit boiling up, about to spill out. He was so hurt, so jealous, so sad, so angry. 

‘I don’t care, Zach.’ Milo cut any response Zach may have off. ‘Look, I’m not stupid. So, before you say anything, let me talk. It’s okay to love a man. Be different, dude. So, this person you obviously love is moving on in a big way cause you’ve been too freaked out to fight to be with them cause they got a dick? That’s fucked, man. I have a friend in casting. It’s how I knew about this show. There’s a few spots left. I bet he can pull some strings and get you on. You going to take this opportunity to get Frankie back, or are you going to sit at home and be a bitch and watch your man get with someone else?’

‘Get me a spot.’, Zach said with steel in his voice. One thing with Zach, once he’d set his mind to something, he wouldn’t be deterred. 

‘That’s the Zach I know! I will call you back. Let me call my buddy real quick, and get this going.’. Milo paused for a few seconds before he continued. ‘Zach? I’m proud of you man!’. Milo said getting excited.

When Zach heard the phone click, he felt like there was hope. With Milo’s connections, Zach had no doubt he’d get him on. It felt great to have someone have his back with Frankie again. It felt great to be honest. Frankie was going to get the man he deserved, and for once Zach felt strong enough to make sure that man was him.

\-----------------------------------

As Zach entered to join the other men, he began to scan the room to see who he was up against. No sooner than the door had shut behind him, Zach was confronted by a fellow suitor. Zach looked the tall blonde man over, already hating him, just knowing he was also here for Frankie.

‘Aren’t you that straight guy that played with Frankie’s heart on national television? Here to play with him again? Need some attention? Career not going well?’. Zach could see the man looking him up and down, clearly thinning he was better than him, and his words would affect him.

Zach smirked, and looked down to see the man’s temporary name tag before addressing him. ‘I’m the guy that played with Frankie’s dick, better than you ever could even think to. And thinking about it is as close to Frankie’s dick as you’ll get. With my career: maybe I’m not rich yet, but you’ve heard of me. That’s success, right, Chucky?’

‘It’s Charles.’. The man snarled. 

‘What the fuck ever.’. Zach said, sneering right back, staring the man down.

Charles huffed and scurried back to join the others, now aware of just who Zach was. Zach smirked and laughed to himself as he watched Chucky leave. He couldn’t wait to be with Frankie at the end of this, but he had to admit that getting under these douches’ skin was going to make the times between when he would see Frankie that much more bearable. He tightened his tie, checked his reflection in a mirror that was on the wall nearest where he had been stopped by Chucky, and he began to head towards the rest. Time to kick some ass.

**Author's Note:**

> fiction but always hoping for the best. enjoy.


End file.
